Back to container countdown

Time is approaching fast when Prime Minister Imran is going to be reminded by the two main opposition parties – Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) – of his offer to provide them with containers and other facilities to hold the sequel his dharna of 2014 in Islamabad. JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, who has been desperate to march on Islamabad since the inception of Imran Khan’s government, has at last been successful in garnering the support of PML-N. Both Rehman and PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif held a meeting in Lahore where they decided to go hand in hand, marching on the capital on some pleasant day of October. The planned march, called Azadi March, will besiege Islamabad which will continue until the government of the day is toppled.

The change of mind in the ranks of ‘reluctant’ PML-N reportedly occurred when PML-N quaid Nawaz Sharif told its party leadership last week to join the march. Earlier, both the Pakistan People’s Party and the PML-N had refused to be part of the ‘immature’ plan. The maulana, however, remained unfazed and warned the government to resign or face the consequences.

Now, PPP has distanced itself from the dharna plan. This is in pursuance of its logical policies which it demonstrated in 2014 when, despite being in opposition, it opposed the container march of Imran Khan, saying it believed in the continuity of the system. Those days, both the JUI-F and the PML-N were also critical of the ‘anti-democracy’ sit-in on Constitution Avenue. Back then a joint session of the parliament, convened on the suggestion of the PPP, proved to be the game changer. Despite holding the capital hostage for six months, Islamabad did not fall in the hands of Imran Khan.

Learning lessons from the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf’s failed project, both the JUI-F and the PML-N should concentrate on positive opposition both inside and outside Parliament. The timing of the march is not favourable either as everybody’s attention is focused on India in the wake of the standoff in Kashmir. PML-N, however, has its own reason to take the road not taken. It cites the persecution of its leaders and bad economy as the main reasons for the march.

On the other hand, the government keeps provoking the opposition. Both sides is advised to follow more sensible paths. *